And the report adds that the Euro 2016 champion’s release clause will rise from £40 million to around £53 million – which means West Ham would have to more than double the club record fee they paid Stoke City for Marko Arnautovic in the summer.

Rather than ensuring he commits his future to the Estadio Jose Alvalade, the likelihood is that Sporting are trying to encourage Carvalho to sign a new contract in order to sell him for an even bigger fee – perhaps after the World Cup, should he impress for Portugal.

Danny Owen

Daniel is a Journalist graduate from Leeds Trinity University and is generally obsessed with everything football related. Daniel watches everything from Augsburg in the Bundesliga to Vitesse in the Eredivisie with as much La Liga as possible thrown in for good measure.